The Indifference of Haruhi Suzumiya
by LaughingTori
Summary: After my first year at North High, there has been next to nothing of interest happening. You know, I should have not expected aliens, time travelers, sliders, or espers to appear and yet still that little voice inside my head was waiting foolishly for the unexpected. Of course, this was how life was and life didn't include the paranormal... Right? Set after "The Surprise."
1. Prologue

**The Indifference of Haruhi Suzumiya**

**Prologue**

I began to realize, really around my second year of high school, that Haruhi Suzumiya really did want to explore the highest reaches of this earth.

Yeah, you would think that I would have already assumed that Haruhi screwed things up like a rogue scientist yelling "It's alive!" but, unfortunately, I simply assumed Haruhi was just Haruhi and there really was no changing her.

Unfortunately for me I was a bit too used to my everyday life in the SOS Brigade.

So much so that I never realized it, creeping up to me from the shadows.

Over the past year, Nagato had to have been the one to have changed the most. When we first met, she did very little except read in her little corner in the clubroom. I could see the emotions that were trying to spill out.

But, of course, due to her programming from the Data Overmind she still remained a stoic statue with a heart beating from within.

So, I hated the Data Overmind. Though, I did hate the Sky Canopy Dominion with an even greater passion.

Asahina-san also was beginning to change although I still was sure I liked that very much. Asahina (big) was a cold manipulator and in the future she wouldn't stop at nothing to weave the past into these "pre-determined" events as if there was some bible in the future that she had to follow.

I hated that future world of hers with a passion. Though, I did hate Fujiwara more for what he tried to do.

As for Koizumi...well he was still a mystery for me. He was Haruhi's "yes-man" and followed her orders simply because she could blow the world to bits if he didn't. Or for some other reason...that I really didn't want to consider.

I still didn't know much about his "Organization" of his. In fact, despite all of his help, I didn't trust him as much as I wanted to. After all, he has revealed next to nothing about himself.

Although...I did sense bitterness edging at him from the corner of my eye. Like hate.

So, I hated his organization simply because they didn't trust me or anyone in the brigade. But, I did hate Tachibana more simply due to the fact that I knew even less about her organization.

Of course...I didn't hate anyone in our Brigade. I couldn't shoot the messengers, especially since they were the only ones who really understood Haruhi Suzumiya.

As for me...

I realized, belatedly I might add, I hadn't changed at all.

Haruhi had grown. She wasn't just smiling in the Brigade clubroom but in our classroom as well. People were starting to not shy away from the Brigade chief as if she was infected with Typhoid and instead began to recognize her as a person.

From a distance of course. No one was that stupid. Except for me of course.

So, as you already know, Haruhi despises routines. And yet the SOS Brigade _was_ a routine.

She just never realized it.

Eventually, as summer began to come again with its heavy heat indexed weather, I began to feel slightly indifferent to the daily activities the SOS Brigade presented. Sure, I was looking forward to what Haruhi was going to think up next. Sure, I was probably going to be crying on the inside when it had something to do with torturing Asahina-san. But it was all normal now.

All of it.

Of course, I would be surprised later and curse this indifference when it came to bite me in the ass.

Is it too late to apologize?


	2. Chapter One

**The Indifference of Haruhi Suzumiya**

**Chapter One**

The summer of my second year of high school could, to the normal observer, be said to be the most drool and boring summer that any normal group of friends could experience.

Fortunately for me, Haruhi seemed to spit in the face of normalcy any chance she seemed to get.

As for me, I tried to give our SOS Brigade leader a practical perspective of things, like the right hand man of Genghis Khan. Of course, I had to live with the knowledge that I helped some crazy leader pillage a peaceful village with my help but, fortunately for me, my decisions (or my indifference if you prefer) haven't come to bite me in the ass so far.

Sure, Haruhi tried making that stupid movie and decided to join some baseball tournament but at least I was able to settle those events without much ever changing. In fact, I think that Haruhi was actually changing for the better.

I stared out the window as I pondered like a stumped philosopher, scratching my head trying to ignore the lesson as best as possible. Haruhi was going to explain it all to me afterward anyway so there was no real point for me to droll my eyes at the Math II teacher who didn't even look happy to be there.

I was, in fact, not excited at all.

Why you might ask?

Exams. There was your answer. Now, pack your bags and leave, I have nothing else to explain.

When the bell rang, I felt a poke on my back side - Haruhi should just come up with a Morse code signal to prick into my back so I didn't have to bother turning around. Unfortunately, I don't think I would want to spend the time memorizing that code anyway.

Our SOS Brigade leader was bent over her desk, sporting a wide smile as she removed her pen from my back.

"Guess what tomorrow is?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow.

Tomorrow? Why, that would be Tanabata. July 7th. The day Haruhi first met me. Though...I already met her.

You know what, just thinking about it hurt my head.

She sat back in surprise - probably due to the fact that I could actually tell what day of the month it was.

"Wow, Kyon. Impressive. Thirty points."

Back to the point system huh? I wondered whether I could cash those points into prizes eventually. Although...I doubted I had enough to trade for 1000 yen never mind 100.

She sat back, spinning her pen. "I'm planning a great spectacle for the Brigade this year! And no, you have to wait for me to tell you in the clubroom."

I really didn't want to know though. Really.

I sat back. "But what are we going to do? Tomorrow is Saturday..."

A tch.

"Figured that out too, eh...? Where did stupid Kyon go and where did you hide him?"

Unless I was mentally unstable, there is no way for me to forget that today was Friday. Any idiot would rejoice over the fact that there would be no school the next day. In fact, that was one of the reasons why I was staring outside and not inside.

She shot her pen out into my face. "You can't just celebrate Friday out of all the days just because it's Friday! Everyday is just as important."

Says the person who attempts to celebrate every holiday of the year as if they were more important then the rest of the days. And plans way to ahead in advance for them without telling anyone.

She continued. "Anyway, I've decided that since Tanabata is during the weekend this year, the SOS Brigade is going to participate in a grand event!"

Oh, please, no. Let's not break any laws tomorrow. Please Orihime, hear this one prayer ahead of time. For me.

She smiled widely at me, waving her pencil again. "Therefore, you better not be late or it's double the penalty!"

I'm always late. Is that even new? And what would she double? The amount of money I had to fork over?

After a few minutes passed I noticed something strange...Haruhi wasn't running off to the cafeteria like normal. I raised my eyebrows at her and she returned my stare with crossed arms.

"What?"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" I asked.

"No, what would I be doing?" she asked back.

I shrugged. "Eating lunch maybe?"

She groaned then looked away from me, finding something in the sky fascinating.

"I forgot my wallet today."

O-_kay_? When did Haruhi forget _anything_?

I jumped up when I heard the screeching of a chair and looked up to Kunikida's tired face and Taniguchi's overly snarky looking one.

"Hey, hey Kyon. What's up?" Taniguchi asked, looking directly at Haruhi, placing his lunch down onto my desk.

I shrugged, going through my own bag to get my lun-

I paused, checking my bag twice then thrice before realizing...I glared up at Haruhi.

"Where's my lunch?"

Haruhi - who had been staring off into space - looked towards me with annoyed eyes.

"What?"

"My. Lunch. Where did you put it?"

Who else would take my lunch? Only Haruhi would - she was the one who forgot her lunch money.

Instead of a sharp smile that I expected of a thief caught red handed there was only confusion written on her face as if I was speaking Latin.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Kyon," she responded.

I smiled back. "Don't give me that. I'll share with you if that makes you feel better."

Haruhi's face grew red - probably in anger - and shot up - yep, definitely in anger.

"You think I stole your lunch?" she shouted. "I would never resort to that, Kyon! Who do you think I am? I am the SOS Brigade leader! I have to set an example!"

Says the person who stole a computer, a heater and a camera, baseball bats, gloves, and the literary clubroom while all except the latter were taken by using Asahina-san's beautiful body. I really didn't think she had room to talk.

Although...she didn't look like she was lying. I would have been able to tell right away if she was lying to me. There were no shifty eyes or a held back smile that would automatically call her bluff.

I scratched my head, looking back into my bag with confusion.

"I...I guess I forgot my lunch."

Though I swear I put it in my bag this morning. I really hope this wasn't a sign for things to come.

The Brigade leader huffed, shaking her head. "I can't believe you didn't believe me. Minus thirty points!"

Wait, she could subtract them? And what is my total score!

Both Kunikida and Taniguchi looked at each other before laughing. I really didn't see what was so funny. I was going to go hungry now. And there was half of the day to go through with my brain hurting.

I was so not looking forward to this.

Haruhi remained behind me like a bad plague as Kunikida and Taniguchi made small talk, each one glancing towards Haruhi when the conversation died down. I wondered why they even cared...

"So, Kyon," Kunikida started, finishing his lunch that I stared after like a starving tiger. "Sorry this is last minute...but Okamoto, Sudoh, and Sasaki finally figured out a reunion day. Apparently the summer vacation won't work since Okamoto has this sports camp over the break. I think Tanaka, Saijo and the others will be there too. She told me to tell you about it."

I glanced away from his empty box at this, surprised. I hadn't heard from Sasaki since...well..._that _incident. When time split in half. In fact, I really didn't want to talk to Sasaki. I know that that whole thing hadn't been her fault but it was so hard not to be reminded of those events when her name was mentioned.

I didn't want to see that sneering bastard or that _thing_ ever again either. I wasn't sure if Sasaki was still friends with them. In that case, I _really_ didn't want to be reunited.

I felt a tightness behind me that I ignored.

I noticed that my mouth was wide open after that. "A-Ah...Really?" I closed my mouth, I think the shock was still apparent. "When is it then?" I asked.

"Tomorrow. We'll all meet near the train station at eleven."

Tomorrow - Saturday - _Tanabata_.

Sasaki was planning for everyone to meet during Tanabata, Haruhi's sacred holiday.

Before I could even turn the offer down, I heard a chair behind me screech as it was shoved back forcefully.

"No!" Haruhi shouted. "No, no, no, no, _no_! He's busy!"

Well... Thanks for acting as my voice Haruhi. If I was ever going mute I could rely on the Brigade leader as my active voice. Definitely.

I had no idea why she was so against this either. It wasn't as if I was going to be gone all day. I mean, this celebration was going to be for the entire day, right? And did she really hate Sasaki or something? Why? Why was she so against her? I glanced behind me, giving Haruhi a curious look.

I think Kunikida was slightly shocked as well.

"Is the SOS Brigade doing something tomorrow?" he asked, curious himself.

Haruhi's expression flinched slightly and she looked down at me briefly before crossing her arms.

"Yes and Kyon has no time for stupid Junior High reunions!" she shouted back.

I glanced back towards Kunikida and shrugged. There wasn't much I could do with that decree. I would probably be dead by the time I was caught with that group. It wasn't as if the reunion mattered much to me anyway. They were a group of acquaintances...the only people I really talked to had been Sasaki and Kunikida anyway. Everyone else...well...

Kunikida shrugged himself, glancing towards me. "It won't be long. We're just catching up at the coffee house near there. Maybe an hour at the least-"

"No!" Haruhi shouted again. "Busy! Kyon is _busy_! How many-"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on Haruhi...I'm not going to spend the whole day there. Isn't Tanabata really more of a night time festival anyway?"

I really didn't want to be rude after all. And...I was curious about what Sasaki's group was planning. If something was going to happen I didn't really want to miss it. Surely I could miss an hour of Haruhi's crazy Tanabata planning or whatever.

As if persuaded, Haruhi sat down slowly, her head facing the window.

"I-I guess..." She pointed her finger at me again although this time with less vigor. "But only an hour! If you're late, penalty!"

Even though I was always late...

* * *

"You really shouldn't go."

Koizumi and I were standing outside - Haruhi immediately shouted at Asahina-san to undress as soon as we crossed the threshold and no sooner was I outside the clubroom tealess - listening to poor Asahina-san's distressing cries.

I was left with the esper and, as his title proclaimed, immediately sensed that something was wrong with Haruhi.

So, I told him everything.

I sighed, leaning back against the wall, staring down outside the Old Building. The trumpets and percussions from the band club were heard from down stairs along with many other _normal_ clubs. The only racket our club ever made was when Asahina-san cried for mercy.

Seeing as how Koizumi was still waiting for an answer, I rubbed my face.

"I know, I know. But haven't they been really quiet recently? What are they planning?"

Koizumi leaned against the wall himself, holding his chin.

"I find that it isn't a coincidence that the meeting happens to occur tomorrow."

I leaned forward. "Really?"

The esper shrugged, his familiar smile appearing again. "I have no idea. You could be going to a normal Junior High reunion. Of course, I wouldn't put that past Suzumiya-san. Or Sasaki-san. What I'm more surprised by is the fact that Suzumiya-san hasn't created any closed spaces yet."

I snorted, looking away. "She seemed fine after I agreed."

I heard a small sigh that I found rather abnormal - coming from Koizumi that is.

"You really don't get it... Suzumiya-san pays attention to Tanabata every year not just because it is another holiday. To her, it was the day that proved abnormal people existed - that people like us existed. And believed in what she believed in. She wants to spend time with you because of it."

I could feel my heart drop when he said those words. What? Why would Haruhi even care if she celebrated Tanabata with me? I wasn't the only one in the Brigade you know. There was Nagato, Asahina-san, and Koizumi. They were an alien, time traveler and esper respectively. They were more interesting than normal human me.

At least...I _think_ I'm normal.

I shook my head. "I doubt that she really cares about this reunion thing. Sure, she cares about Sasaki but I thought she already got passed her. She probably thinks I'm a lazy ass-"

I felt a hand slam into my shoulder and I glared quickly into Koizumi's eyes. "What was-!"

"She wants to spend Tanabata with you because, unconsciously, you _are_ John Smith. Somewhere deep inside her head she believes you are. But, like aliens, time travelers and espers she doesn't truly believe it. She can't believe it." He released me, his soft smile reappearing. "Fine...there is no stopping you from going. Just...be careful. I'm...worried that all may not be what it seems."

He was just being paranoid. Sure, I should expect something abnormal to happen tomorrow but I wasn't going to live like an alien was holding a dagger up to my throat everyday. I would go insane eventually if that was the case.

The door slammed open and Haruhi called both of us back in.

"I was getting bored of the maid outfit so today she's magical waitress Mikuru-chan!"

Asahina-san was bright red despite the fact that she was wearing a repeat outfit. Haruhi looked pleased with herself as she rubbed Asahina-san's frizzed hair down back into place. The cute time traveler looked up at me when I walked in.

"W-W-Why am I wearing this today?" she asked, watery eyes staring up at that demon.

Haruhi shook a finger as she hung Asahina-san's clothes on the rack.

"You need to stretch the uniform out for the upcoming episode! We were going to film this summer right? At that castle Tsuruya-chan was talking about! It'll be perfect scenery for the picture!"

Okay, okay let's not get ahead of ourselves here. When did Tsuruya-san ever agree to this trip? And why would Asahina-san even need to stretch her uniform out in the first place? It was perfectly fine!

Haruhi pursed her lips like a catfish.

"During the poetry reading remember? Did you forget already? Stupid Kyon. I guess you're back."

Hey. I never left.

I sat down in my normal seat, nodding to Nagato who didn't even glance back up at me to nod back. I guess the ritual was just that normal already. Today she was reading, of all things, a romance novel. I couldn't read the title since it was in German this time but by the cover of a scantily clad heroine and a super buff hero I was already gagging at the sight.

Huh...Nagato never read romance. That's new. I wondered if she liked it.

Koizumi sat back down and returned to doing whatever he was doing before Haruhi burst in. Which was setting up a chess board. Again...chess. I thought we got over that strange fade last summer. In any case, no matter how much Koizumi practiced I still beat him. I wonder why he even bothered playing against me if I always won. What was the point?

Though...he was a bit better at luck based games...like Old Maid and Poker (except that one time though that wasn't really lucky since I hadn't _bet_ on anything. Damn.)

Apparently I was white today and we started our game after Haruhi returned to her desk.

And it was like any other day at the clubroom.

No, it was _like any other day at the clubroom._

And it shouldn't be. Why? Because Haruhi had a plan that she wanted to tell us.

As I moved my rook to capture Koizumi's knight, I glanced up at Haruhi as she clicked nonchalantly at her mouse, fiddling with the keyboard a bit, before settling down in her chair again. What was she going to say? I really had to know. She had announced her Tanabata plan so loudly at me that I was really curious as to what she wanted to say about it.

And yet...she wasn't saying _anything_ about it. What the hell? This had to be a sort of torture. It was like waving a bone in front of a dog then lifting it up out of reach. It was like hiding the greatest secret of the world behind a locked door and being told that you would be given the key "later." This was torture. This was _revenge_. I just knew it.

After beating Koizumi a bit at chess, I grew tired of the game so we switched to Othello - a classic I suppose. And still, Haruhi remained silent. Why? Why wasn't she saying anything? Was she still planning? Trying to decide what outfit Asahina was going to wear? Pick a spot to write another message to Orihime and Hikoboshi? What was is? _What?_

"Um...Kyon-kun?"

I looked up after hearing a heavenly voice and noticed that Asahina-san was staring down at me with minor confusion.

"Y-You're tea's probably cold now. Do you want me to refill it?"

I looked by my right arm and realized...that I had been ignoring Asahina's tea. Her tea was the only real thing I looked foreward to everyday and yet I just up and _forgot_ about it.

I jumped, the table shaking - cursing as when I finally realized that I had left such a heavenly potion unattended. I should be whipped twenty times by satan for this...

"Y-Yes...Sorry I guess I was..."

A complete idiot? First there was Koizumi being a paranoid bastard, then it was Haruhi not telling us her plans, Nagato reading a strange genre, then there was me forgetting to drink Asahina-san's famous tea.

Without another word, Asahina simply lifted my round tea cup up and drained the remains in a dirty pot beside the brewer. I really should be arrested for the crime of ignoring Asahina-san. I really should.

As soon as I was given a new brew, I drank it down immediately despite the summer air and the heat of the tea not really mixing well. I was not going to let Asahina-san down again.

I felt a stare and placed my cup down, giving Koizumi a stare back. However, he was more preoccupied with setting up the Othello board again. I looked around the room and spotted Haruhi's glare. Her eyes jumped back to the computer screen like a hot potato and I scrunched my eyebrows at her sudden attention.

Ignoring that awkward moment, I returned to beating Koizumi's ass, the cicada's buzzing noisily outside the window, reminding us that summer was at hand. The fan that Haruhi probably stole as well served as another reminder but, because of Brigade leader benefits, the fan was always pointed at Haruhi at all times.

I was surprised when the sky began to darken with the sunset and jumped when Haruhi stood up. Asahina jumped along with me while Koizumi and Nagato simple just looked up. The leader gave the bamboo tree one look before heaving a sigh.

"The Brigade is dismissed," she said, throwing her badge down.

"Wait!"

I was surprised at my super sonic speed for I was able to catch Haruhi's wrist as she began to rush out. In fact, I was surprising myself a lot today.

Our leader stopped walking and pulled her wrist out of my hand to give me a fierce look.

"_What_?" she asked with a hint of anger.

My mouth flapped up and down like an idiot.

"T-Tanabata," I said, stuttering like an idiot. "What about Tanabata?"

I held Haruhi's gaze for a minute before she looked away from me towards the window. She sighed before shaking her head, shrugging.

"We already made our wishes last year. That's enough, right?" She turned around. "It's not... really that important anyway."

_It's not important_? What was she even saying?

And she left. She just _left_ without telling us what her plans for tomorrow were going to be. I didn't even care if they were going to be illegal to do anymore I just wanted to _know_. I thought she had just been teasing us, waiting until the end of the meeting instead of telling us right at the beginning like normal.

But no. She just didn't have any plans anymore. Why? Why wasn't she telling us?

I hadn't even noticed when most of the Brigade members just left. _Like that_. Koizumi had nothing to say to me. Neither did Nagato or Asahina.

Sighing, I left the clubroom - unlocked since Haruhi brought the key with her for some reason. This really sucked.

Although...I hadn't been prepared for what tomorrow would have brought me. I really should have seen it after Haruhi just left like that but like the idiot I was, I did nothing about it. Sometimes, my own inaction was the cause of the trouble while other times it had always been by Haruhi's actions - or her curiosity - that caused the trouble in the first place.

This time, I couldn't escape what was to come.

No, I never escaped it. Not even now.

* * *

I woke up to a phone call.

I was prepared to slap the hell out of my cellphone when I noticed that it was two in the morning on a weekend but I held back my anger enough to groan a normal greeting into the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Sorry for the late call but this can't wait."

I was surprised to hear an unfamiliar voice at the other end of the phone. I was expecting Koizumi to angrily call me in the middle of the night to get back at me for causing Haruhi to go mental or Asahina-san calling about some strange time loop that was occurring due to me forgetting some minuscule detail like homework or something. Even Nagato had a better chance of calling me than this stranger - the voice of a man or a very masculine woman.

After a pause, I held my cellphone up closer to my ear.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"No one...I'm sorry but we really need to meet at the station. We'll talk more once you get there."

The station...that was where the reunion was going to take place (today now that it was past midnight.) Before I could even ask this stranger more questions, he hung up with a click and I was left staring at the number labeled "private." Who was this guy? An alien? A time traveler? Esper? Finally the slider? Who?

I left those questions in my head as I got up quickly and snuck out quietly, wheeling my bike underneath the moonlight. I probably should have called Koizumi or Nagato and asked them about this but for some reason I felt as if this guy wasn't patient in the slightest.

Today was Tanabata - the milky way was very clear tonight despite the city lights blinding me as I rolled my bike down the street. I didn't even bother locking it as I came up to the station, throwing my bike against the wall and semi-jogging up to the front.

However...there was no one there. No one - no strange man or woman. No alien to suddenly start babbling scientific jargon. No time traveler speaking in "classified information" code. And no smiling esper whispering into my ear Haruhi's devious plots. Not even a slider which I had been expecting for some time and was starting to doubt even existed.

"Hello?"

Calling out to this "no one" wouldn't really matter though. Not if there wasn't anyone there. Tired and wishing that I could just sleep in on a Saturday for once, I turned around, figuring that someone had just pranked called me. I wouldn't put it past Haruhi to prank me or something after actually having plans for once.

However, before I could grab the handle of my bike, a hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder, twisting me around.

I was shocked to find a guy who wore glasses and a suit - he looked like he was in college or maybe in his third year in high school - grasping both of my shoulders as if I was a long lost family member. He smiled at me before pouncing - I didn't even have time to escape from his grasp.

"Nii-san!" he shouted. "I'm really sorry I called you so late but I really had to know if it was true...and it is! You were right, this is amazing!"

I struggled to comprehend what in all things that were holy was going on before I realized...this college student was hugging me like he was some ten year old kid. After an awkward silence he finally released me, looking down with a wide smile, fixing his glasses. Seeing as how I was giving him a look of major disturbance like I had been molested in public, he straightened up, laughing nervously.

"Oh...right this is the past. You don't know me really that much yet. Sorry."

"O-Oh..."

And he was from the past? Well...I suppose Asahina (big) and Fujiwara (that sneering bastard) weren't the only time travelers around the block. Although this guy...seemed a bit more unprofessional about this. Sort of like me on the rare occasions I time traveled. He certainly didn't mind spoiling me with the detail that I was going to know who he was someday.

After a minute of silence, he smiled back at me, shaking his head.

"This is really unreal though...I didn't actually think that would work. Are you real? Are you really real here, Nii-san?"

That really depends on what you consider "real." Just last year, I hadn't even considered time travelers to be "real."

He laughed once. "Yeah, you're definitely right about that, Nii-san. Never miss a beat...though in this case a word."

He was starting to not make sense. I was getting worried. This strange time traveler man frowned when he noticed my expression and began to walk away. "Follow me. We have some things to discuss. I'm rather...shaken that this is all happening but you told me that as soon as I got here I was suppose to speak to you. About today...or tomorrow."

"Probably today."

"Then today then!"

He walked past the station and headed in the direction of that river I always seemed to spend time with Asahina-san. The entire time he gazed at every little thing as if experiencing them for the first time - kicking rocks that were beside the road as if he was doing something powerful, stopping to literally smell the roses that we walked past. He was really like some little kid who didn't know much else and I was starting to wonder...what sort of time traveler was he?

"Ah, we're here! The place where we first talked."

We had made it to the river - I think I saw some hobo sleeping on the bench Asahina-san and I sat and discussed time travel for the first time. And this time traveler really wasn't careful with what he revealed. I'm not even sure if I was supposed to know that detail.

I glanced around wearily.

"Why did you bring me here?"

The glasses man turned around to smile at me.

"Why wouldn't I bring you here? This is the place of my inspiration. This is why I'm even here in the first place."

I doubted that a river created time travel or that TPDD thing Asahina-san mentioned before. Time Plane Destruction Device.

The man - more of a child really - tilted his head. "TPDD? Really? I hadn't thought about it like that before. Is that how it really works?"

How should I know? You're the time traveler!

He laughed loudly. "Right, right Nii-san. I keep forgetting that you don't know that yet in this time plane."

Know what?

But he ignored my question, skipping up to the river's edge. His whole demeanor suddenly turned serious as if Hades suddenly took his soul and replaced it with something darker. "July 7th, four years ago. It seems like forever since then though really, at least now, it's hard to go there even with the TPPA or TP-"

"-DD," I finished.

He smiled back at me before continuing. "I've tried of course but that time rift that she created makes it impossible. And only a few can go past it." He sighed before glancing towards me. "Something terrible is going to happen today. Though...you may not realize that it's terrible you should beware those you seem to trust and trust those you normally beware. That's what you told me to tell you."

He took up a rock and simply sat down in the water as if it wasn't even cold in the slightest. I walked up beside this strange man, looking down at him. What did he mean by "beware those I trust and trust those I normally beware?" What did that even mean?

After the rock made a small ripple in the water, he stood up, his suit soaking wet at the bottom. He smiled once again, rolling up his sleeves. He bent over and handed me a flat rock.

"Here. You taught me how to skip rocks once. I think it was...well for you it must be at least a year from now."

I looked down at the smooth surface and threw the rock into the river. It skipped only twice before plummeting. He took my shoulder again - these time travelers really had no sense of space - and shook it.

"Yeah...of course you know how to skip rocks. Like ripples in time...you really know how to do it then? I can't just create paradoxes on a whim then, can I?"

You say that as if that would be a fun thing to do!

"Of course it would!"

"Who are you anyway?" I asked. "A time traveler? I know that much at least. But what is your name?"

He glanced away from me before releasing my shoulders again, looking down at the muddy river side.

"That's...what is it? 'Classified information?' Yes...that's classified information. But you can call me..." He pondered before snapping his fingers. "John Smith."

_John Smith_? Is that a joke?

He began to laugh hysterically

"Just kidding, just kidding! Though you do probably need to call me by something...How about... Megane-kun then? Perfect!"

But that name is even worse!

"You really do like complaining, don't you? I didn't know you were actually this grumpy! I guess I learn something new from Nii-san everyday..."

...Why can't every time traveler be like Asahina-san (little)? So far, everyone of them except her have been complete bastards.

Alright...this _Megane_-san walked away from me and towards an empty bench. He sat down on it, trying to get the water out of his pants. I simply stared back at him as he tried to dry himself and he sighed as if skipping rocks like a child was exhausting.

I sat down beside him, trying wrap my head around this guy. A man...with glasses beside I river...why did he seem so familiar? Like I had seen him before? He yawned and stretched before glancing at his watch.

"Ohp, looks like time is up. I have one more thing to tell you before I have to whisk away."

Already? You haven't really said much and I don't even know who you are...

He huffed, standing. "Asahina-chan...she told me that she can't help you with this. She told me that Yuki-chan and Koizumi-kun can't help you with this either. You're all alone today and what comes after."

I was actually frightened by those words. Nagato and Koizumi can't help me with...whatever was going to happen? What sort of thing was going to happen that I couldn't rely on them for assistance? Of course...I had fixed the world once before without hints but...damn it, this Megane-kun was making me worried.

He smiled down at me before stepping back. "Sorry...but I can't help you much either Nii-san. That would be a paradox for sure and you warned me about those. So, I'll listen to you instead for once. Just once though."

He took another step back, giving the river a look. "See yah later, Nii-san!"

"Wait!"

Then, without another word, he ran into the water and just _disappeared_. Just like that. I stood up, stepping into the river myself after he just vanished into the waters. Was this...Megane that insane? And...I've never really seen time travel work in action. Did they really just disappear like that?

Sigh.

Yare, yare...

* * *

I couldn't get much sleep after that incident - what with myself being in danger yet again today. I woke up to my sister who didn't know the concept of weekend, dragging Shamisen with my precious blanket. Laughing, she skipped off with the cat, leaving me heavy eyed and wishing for that small amount of sleep I lacked due to "Megane." That false name was worse than "John Smith." Worse than Fujiwara as well... In fact it wasn't even a name damnit.

I sighed, sitting up, grabbing my phone. Might as well get it over with...

"Hello?"

"Hi, yeah, Koizumi...there's a bit of a problem..."

And I told him everything about Megane and his strange time traveling permissions. The esper remained quiet the entire time, saying a few words so that I knew he was still there. After that short story, there was a small sigh.

"I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. Though, if it makes you feel better, Haruhi hasn't created any closed spaces."

Should I really be happy about that?

"Of course! Would you rather the world be at risk by Haruhi or by someone else?"

At the very least I understood Haruhi. Whatever was going to attack the Brigade this time I had very little understanding of. Just like that girl Suyou or whatever her weird name was. We had no idea what she even _was_ when we first encountered her. And even then without Nagato's help we would still be trapped there. I would rather be thrown in a familiar situation than something different and dangerous.

Koizumi sighed. "So, you would rather be trapped in a closed space with Haruhi again?" He smiled. "You know I'm still curious as to what you did to fix that little prob-"

"Of course not! I don't want any of that to happen!"

He laughed, annoyingly. "I know, I know. I just wanted to see...Are you sure you don't just want to cancel this reunion now that you know something bad is going to occur?"

What would you have me do? Just ignore the problem instead?

"Probably not...Although maybe sometimes inaction is better than reaction if you know what I mean. Sasaki's group may or may not be planning something. Tachibana-san has sworn that she means no harm although I doubt her higher ups are really that forgiving...As for Suoh and this Fujiwara, we haven't heard from them since the incident in April. We have no idea where they are though I assume they are still close to Sasaki. Staying home guarantees your safety. With those odds, why wouldn't you choose the safer route?"

I sighed. The odds really don't matter when it comes to Haruhi now, does it?

I heard a small laugh on the other side of the phone. "I guess you are right then, you know so much more about Suzumiya-san than our possible enemies that even if Haruhi becomes upset I doubt you wouldn't be able to fix the problem. Of course...now that we have other people to worry about..."

"There was one other thing this Megane character mentioned," I interrupted.

There was silence on the other end of the line and I fixed my phone closer to my ear as Koizumi digested that information.

"Go on."

"He said 'beware those you trust and trust those that you beware.' What do you think that means?"

There was another silence on the other end of the line and I was starting to wonder if the esper had hung up on me right after I mentioned that. Instead, however, there was a short laugh.

"I have no idea what he means. But, I will ask my superiors and get back to you on that."

Okay. For some reason Koizumi's tone of voice didn't exactly convince me that he was actually going to ask his "superiors" whoever they were. In fact, the blank intonation he gave with that line started to make me suspicious.

"Is...there something -?"

"Yes?" Koizumi asked.

I shook my head even though he wouldn't be able to see that gesture.

"Nothing."

I hung up with the esper and immediately called Nagato. Unfortunately, I was unable to get through due to the line being busy on the other end. I scratched my head in puzzlement. Someone else was calling Nagato? I mean, not that I didn't believe that the alien could make other friends, but she was, in fact, an alien. I doubt not many people outside the Brigade would call her.

Figuring that Haruhi or Mikuru was calling her for some sort of business, I shook my head and closed my cellphone.

The rest of the day - at least until ten - was spent watching the pre-tournament baseball games against a local high school team and some other southern team. I didn't really pay attention to the rest of the game and wasn't saddened when I had to leave it.

My little sister - who was chomping down like a barbarian on a popsicle - looked up at me as I stood.

"Are you going out today with Haru-nyan and the others?" she asked.

"Sure..." I responded, lying for now. Once I mentioned Sasaki she would have "volunteered" herself to tag along with me and I didn't want that.

And what was with that nickname? She must have been influenced by Tsuruya-san's weird way of speaking to call Haruhi "Haru-nyan." Bonking her on the head once, I left - worried as to what this reunion was going to be like. I really hoped Sasaki's clan of supernatural buddies weren't going to be there today. I would sure as hell make a scene if they were.

The front of the station was crowded with people when I pulled my bike up, locking it this time due to this afternoon traffic. Many high schoolers and friends chatted wildly as they held shopping bags and supplies. I bumped into a few people as I walked - one of these people was an old woman that I apologized to quickly.

I had been so distracted that I didn't notice someone barreling in my direction.

"Late! Penalty!"

I jumped, glaring over my shoulder surprised to find Haruhi stomping towards me.

"Haruhi? What are you -?"

"What am I what? Stop babbling like an idiot!" She poked my chest and I took a step back into some busy woman. I apologized the second time. "You owe us lunch at the cafe!"

I looked behind our Brigade leader, spotting Nagato - who was actually wearing normal clothes for once - and Asahina-san who smiled and waved at me like the angel she was. Don't ever change, Asahina-san.

What I was rather surprised about though was seeing Koizumi there sporting his normal grin. Wait...wouldn't he have told me they were tagging along? Traitor!

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

Haruhi gave me her radiation smile. "You're having a Junior High reunion, right? Well, seeing as how we were going to just go out right after we might as well join you!"

"..."

I didn't really know what to say. Haruhi _wanted_ to talk to people from my Junior High? I had a really bad feeling about this never mind the esper here not sharing important details like the SOS Brigade meeting up with me. I glared at him and he smiled back innocently, shrugging. Believe me, Koizumi, I am going to rub that smirk off of your...

Before I could even respond I was dragged away by my wrist as I could hear the change in my wallet slipping away...

Nagato followed as silently as always along with Asahina and Koizumi and we soon created a path in the crowd. I slammed into another person, glaring at Haruhi's back.

"Watch what you're doing!"

She ignored me though and continued to sprint into the crowd. Why was it so busy today? Well...sure there were some festivals and such but I thought only kids really celebrated Tanabata... Don't tell me that Haruhi was using her powers to make this holiday more popular or something. I really didn't want to have to deal with her world bendingness right now. And what happened to there being no plan today? I was actually looking forward to the lack of Haruhi...

We were soon in front of our normal cafe - the same one that I emptied my coin purse of my weekly allowance. I sighed, looking past the windows into the warmth of the restaurant, people were chatting happily without any sort of knowledge about what was about to occur. I surely had no idea and I was just standing there, dumbly glaring at Haruhi while praying that this hour could just go by in a flash.

How wrong I was.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The summer of my second year of high school could, to the normal observer, be said to be the most drool and boring summer that any normal person could experience.

I stared out the window as I pondered like a stumped philosopher, scratching my head trying to ignore the lesson as best as possible. No one was going to explain it all to me afterward anyway so there was no real point for me to drool my eyes at the Math II teacher who didn't even look happy to be there.

It was July 6th - Tanabata was tomorrow I think. Although, I was more happy about the fact that it was Friday more than anything.

I was, in fact, not excited at all.

Why you might ask?

Exams. There was your answer. Now, pack your bags and leave, I have nothing else to explain.

Of course, my mother was ready to ship me off to cram school at a moments notice and I wouldn't be surprised if by summer vacation I was sitting in a night time class room staring out the window just like this. I wouldn't be doing much anyway...

Because high school has been just that.

Boring.

Boring.

_Boring_.

Kunikida waved once at me as he sat down - probably one of my only friends really. Sure, I spoke to other people - what was the answer to this question? Who did what during the Edo period? How do I find the limit?

"Hey, Kyon, you awake? What's up?" he asked.

I sighed, sitting back. The bell for lunch had just rung and my stomach complained over the last math class that had mentally fatigued me. I reached in my bag to pull out my lunch...only to discover that it wasn't there at all.

I groaned and Kunikida's head poked up.

"Hm? What's wrong."

"I forgot my lunch..."

He smirked as he unpacked his own lunch, shaking his head.

"Did you really?" he asked, surprised.

I know...even I felt kind of dumb, forgetting my own lunch like that. I had a routine: my sister attacked me to get up, I brushed my teeth, got dressed, ate breakfast if I had time, then grabbed my lunch. Afterwards I would climb Mount. Olympus up to North High by which time I would be sweating all of my calories I had gained from breakfast.

You know, that would normally be a healthy activity but for me it was simply just a world of pain every morning.

And then, there was just my seat in the back of the room.

Pretty awesome seat I might add.

Our homeroom teacher never changed our seats last year and even now as I remained in his homeroom I sat in the back corner. Of course...I had no idea why he never switched me. Probably didn't want to bother.

As for the one seat behind me...it was always empty. Our room had an odd number of people therefore the one empty seat was taken by Kunikida as he ate lunch contentedly. I sighed, deciding that maybe a nap was needed so that I didn't go crazy by staring Kunikida's lunch down.

Before I could properly sleep however I was interrupted by Kunikida's voice.

"Hey...sorry that this is last minute, but Sasaki came up with the idea of a Junior High reunion party. You want to come?"

Sasaki? Junior High reunion?

I sat up, looking my friend in the face.

"Junior High party? Where did this come from?"

"I met Sasaki during the spring. We talked a bit and decided we should meet. All of us should. We've...grown a bit apart so..."

I lethargically looked out the window. I nodded, shrugging before my head collapsed on the desk.

"Sure. Why not?"

"It's tomorrow at eleven near the station...and, hey, you alright? You kind of look tired..."

Yeah...what did you think? After a week of studying yet never retaining the information my brain had to be goo by now. I was surprised that I even passed last year though I do remember that scathing discussion by my teachers about picking up the pace.

Or else I won't be going to college. _At all_.

You know what's funny? I've lost my drive years ago. You would be surprised but I actually did better during my first year in Junior High. I guess it all just went down hill after that.

Since I really didn't see a point in all of this anymore.

The question of whether or not you believed in Santa Claus would probably never come up in idle conversations. In any case, I was one of those children who didn't believe in him. Ever.

You know, I would ask questions, my mother would answer telling me that Santa was "somehow" able to deliver presents to all the little good boys and girls in only one night. Not to mention the fact that time zones needed to be taken account for.

So, I could just _tell_ that she was lying. I didn't see mommy kissing Santa Claus or anything. I just _knew_ he wasn't real. The other kids probably thought so too but they just didn't want to admit it.

As for everything else...aliens, time travelers, espers, sliders, dragons, fairies, monsters, telepaths, ghosts...none of those were real either.

Of course, I wanted them to be real at first but I realized - just like Santa - that if there were aliens they would have either contacted us by now or left a message. Either that or we just weren't interesting to them. If there were any time travelers they wouldn't even reveal themselves due to the dangers of distorting time. And why would they reveal themselves to me? I wasn't special, no, not in the slightest.

I was just...normal.

As for espers...it wasn't physically possible to telepathically move objects or read minds. Even if that was possible, I doubted anyone would stay sane with that power. I wouldn't even wish myself that.

And sliders were just impossible. If there were a million different worlds, the probability for one of them to land on our world was closer to the chances of winning the lottery. Which was basically zero.

So, I left those childhood dreams behind as I entered high school. I thought it had been a sign that I had I'd matured before I realized that...well...

_I had no more dreams left. _

I was not talented by any means. You would be shocked after reading my school records at the amount of failure. I wasn't creative, intelligent, or passionate.

I was just a husk going through the motions.

I hadn't even realized when I fell asleep, jumping when I heard the bell - wiping drool off my cheek. I glanced behind me, Kunikida had vacated the area due to my slumbering state. I sighed, trying to ignore the tugging at my stomach and sat back, prepared to be tortured by another round of classes.

I then went home.

And that was what life was.

You know, I'm glad that reality is like this. If monsters or demons or other evil beings actually existed I doubt I would have enjoyed it. After all, humans live to survive and as a human myself I have to live.

Right?

I parked my bike up to the curb and was about to turn the door handle to my house before I felt a hand grab my shoulder, twisting me around-

Yet there was no one there.

Strange...I must be paranoid... Or tired. And starving.

Scratching my head, I turned back around and entered my house. Ate dinner. Ignored my homework. Watched T.V. Then went to bed. All part of my routine as well. And that was okay too. Really, believe me.

This was life after all.

* * *

I woke up to a phone call.

I was prepared to slap the hell out of my cellphone when I noticed that it was two in the morning on a weekend but I held back my anger enough to stand up and grab my phone out of my bag.

My cellphone rarely rang. I mean, I had friends...but we never really hung out _ever_. And even so, they were all in my class so there was no real need for extra interaction. There were the rare times I responded to a request but other than that...

I eyed it carefully, wondering what prank caller would even bother with me so late at night, and shook my head when I noticed the name.

"John Smith?" I said out loud.

An English person? What-? I smirked as I flipped my phone open, feeling like laughing at the joke.

"Hello?"

"How is your prison?" said the voice of a man, a dark voice that chilled me to the bone. I swallowed and my eyes widened as I stared at my phone, shocked at the man's voice. I returned it shakily to my ear.

"I-I'm sorry but do you have the wrong number? This is-"

"I know who you are."

I jumped again, my eyebrows creasing when this man replied so quickly. I was...he knew who I was? How? I doubted it...I probably would have recognized the voice by now. I double checked the number however there _was_ no number. Just John Smith.

_How_?

I heard a crackle on the other side. "You're not going to be playing with the world in this prison I helped to create for you. My world, this world, the real world, is saved now. Ha, how funny."

"What are you-what are you talking about?"

"Now, now...are you confused? Frightened even? You've manipulated this power for long enough. I think it's about time you were taken out of the equation, see? Of course, you have no idea what I'm saying because _she_ changed everything. Ironically with the power. They can do that you know. If you remembered, you would know."

My heartbeat was increasing as I sat there confused. I should have hung up. I really should have...

But, I was too curious. This was interesting. This was...different. Unique.

I took in a deep breath before speaking. "What...are you...?"

"My name is John Smith. That used to be your name but I stole your life so I stole your name."

Stole my life? Was this stranger going to kill me? And my name wasn't John Smith! Is he stupid?

I heard a laugh. "Of course, I didn't call you to make small talk. I called to confirm something..." There was a pause on the other end of the line before his dark voice returned. "Do you know who Haruhi Suzumiya is?"

I remained silent, trying to consider what he was saying. What was this supposed to mean?

I replied a second after. "Of course- of course not-"

"I don't have any idea who that is."

The man hung up - I couldn't save his name under a contact. He hadn't even replied after I answered his question. How rude...

I went back to bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. What a dumb prank. He had an English name (that was obviously fake) and started spouting something about a "prison" and a "power." He was probably crazy. After all, none of that stuff he started spouting made any sense.

I then realized that maybe he was trying to prank this "Haruhi Suzumiya." That had to be it.

After a restless sleep, I woke up to my sister who had no concept of weekends. I lazed around the house as always before I realized...

"Crap!" I shouted.

The Junior High reunion! It was ten fifty when I checked the clock and it took me thirty minutes to get to the station.

I was going to be late...

Yare, Yare (did people even use this phrase anymore...?).

I pedaled my bike like I never had before and rubbed my forehead of sweat when I reached the station. Despite it being early summer the outside was as humid as a sauna. I wouldn't be surprised if we outclassed Okinawa when it came to the temperature. I was going to search the crowd filled street for Kunikida or Sasaki but I couldn't spot anyone.

I had no idea where they had went. Had they stopped at that cafe? Maybe they went to the movies. Wouldn't Kunikida have called me to ask where I was? Unless...

Yeah, no one cared if I was there or not.

I should...probably just go home. Go back to sleep. I was woken up at two in the morning after all...

I then heard a shout. A long, drawn out shout.

"_Kyon_!"

I glanced around and yet there was no one there. I smiled to myself. Maybe even I was going crazy. Were ghosts actually real? Ha, yeah right. I should really stop with these strange thoughts of mine.

And yet...

"_Kyon! Where are you, damn it?_"

I flicked my head around. Was it Sasaki calling after me? I really should wait around then and see if they were actually looking for me in this crowded place. I placed my bike down and started to search the streets. I was about to give up again before I felt something touching my shoulder.

I twisted around and smiled slightly in relief when I saw that it was Sasaki standing there. She was shaking her head, pointing at the door to the cafe.

"Late as ever, Kyon?"

"Erm...sorry. I didn't know where-"

Sasaki began to walk forward and I followed behind her like a shadow.

"How's it been, Kyon?" she asked.

I shrugged, indifferent to her question.

"Normal I suppose. Except for the fact that math is hanging over my head like a guillotine blade... Either that or I'm laying inside a pit with a sharp pendulum slowly descending onto my tied down body..."

Sasaki giggled. "You are so negative, Kyon. What happened to the positive energy I appreciated?"

I remained silent after that as we entered the cafe, a soft ringing of the bell telling those inside that we entered. A few of my old Junior High friends looked up, smiling. And I smiled back at them. After all, it has been awhile.

"Heh, heh...late much, Kyon? Don't tell me-" That was Sudoh - just someone I talked to once or twice though he liked to pretend he was friends with everyone.

"-Yep, he got lost. I think I saw him pass by the window...five times?" That was Saijo...I thought he was a bastard when we first spoke in my first year class. Ever since though...we haven't really spoke.

There was a short giggle.

"You should have said something then! So cruel..." And that was Okamoto-san. She had no reserved when it came to guys, like a vampire in the night, prowling for her next meal...

Sasaki shoved me forward, with a smile. "There's a seat over there, see?" she muttered.

I nodded, my smile still plastered on my face. I don't know why...but it seemed to hurt despite the fact that it was a smile. Did you know that it actually took more muscles to frown? It's kind of funny since it actually felt easier to frown at times then to smile so...

I sat beside Kunikida and he waved at me as he stuffed his face with breaded shrimp. A cafe that sold breaded shrimp? I glanced at the menu, listening to the conversations around me...

"A doctor, Nakagawa? _Really_?"

"It's been my plan! Go to school for ten years, meet the girl of my dreams, then become a doctor. Sounds perfect, eh?"

There was a snort.

"You're too crazy having your whole life planned out like that..."

"Hey! It's better to have a plan then live in a teenager's limboed state of identity crisis."

"Still...it's crazy."

The one disagreeing with him was Sudoh.

Kunikida looked up from his meal.

"I don't think so. I mean...I might not have Nakagawa's or Sasaki's grades but I still want to be an engineer or scientist or something. Nakagawa's lucky he at least knows what he wants to do."

I could just sense his smile without even looking.

"This is why I missed you, Kunikida-san. You always look at it from my side!"

"Though...you're still crazy. You? Actually getting a girlfriend?"

There was a few more bickering and laughing before the waitress came up to me. I still wasn't exactly sure what to get but seeing as how this was a cafe, I just got a coffee to fit the atmosphere. Sasaki ordered as well, surprisingly black coffee. I raised my eyebrows but other-wisely didn't raise a question.

My old Junior High friends continued to speak.

"So, Okamoto-san...I heard you have an athletic meet-?"

"During the summer."

There was a horrified pause.

"In this heat!"

"Hum? What heat? _This_? This is nothing compared to Hawaii's weather. The last time I was there...three, four years ago? Yeah...it was much hotter _there_ than here."

Saijo jumped, shaking the table.

"You've been to _Hawaii_?"

"Yeah...for my father's business meeting."

"Spoiled brat..."

Saijo was slapped over the head.

"I heard that you idiot."

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

There was laughing and I sat back, thanking the waitress as she slid the coffee onto the table. I blew at it once before taking a foolish sip...

_Too hot!_

I waved at my mouth as if I had thrown fire into it, slamming my coffee down, spilling the hot liquid onto my hand. I shouted out, waving my burnt hand as if trying to put out that fire, and my old Junior High friends snorted and laughed at my display.

"You okay there, Kyon-kun?"

"Probably need to wait a bit before you drink from that, eh?"

Yeah...I already knew that. What geniuses...

I blushed after that very embarrassing moment, sliding my cup of coffee away from me as if it was poison. I like tea so much better anyway...though whenever I tried to make some it tasted more like flavored water than anything _good_. And it was too late to order anything different...

Okamoto was giving me a sly look that I narrowed my eyes at.

"So...you haven't really spoken much. How's North High, eh?"

I shrugged, using a napkin to wipe up the spilled coffee.

"It's alright."

The popular athletic girl smiled.

"Just alright?" She frowned. "What about you Kunikida-san? Have you guys joined any clubs? I'm in badminton and softball."

"Me and Kyon are part of the 'going-home-after-school' club," he said with a smirk. "Of course...Okabe-sensei tried to convince me to join the handball team but...erm...well it's not really a fun sport to play. It's sort of like dodge ball without the action, isn't it?"

Okamoto frowned. "That is so not true! I have many friends in the handball club who enjoy the sport very much!"

"Yeah...but Okabe-sensei's team just sucks. I swear, only the sport player wannabes want to join that team because everyone who's in it is bad as well."

The popular girl sighed. "Well...I guess that's probably the case huh...So is North High really that bad?"

"Well... I didn't..."

"It's just on the top of that hill, right? Makes for perfect exercise right there. There's no _need_ to join a sports club!" Saijo interrupted.

Kunikida snorted. "You got that right..."

I decided to order some food after a long deliberation. My coffee went cold so I also asked for some water to drink. Meanwhile my old Junior High friends chatted on...about possible boyfriends or girlfriends. About the dog they just adopted and how adorable it was. How great, in general, their lives were.

All of it...all of it was just normal.

And that was okay.

Yeah, since that was how life was. Just _normal_. Nothing interesting happening at all. I mean, what exactly was I expecting? Someone to start demanding that aliens, time travelers, sliders, and espers should just _exist_.

No...I wouldn't be that lucky.

And so, the Junior High meeting ended after the hour.

We all parted ways like friends although everyone to me simply felt like strangers. Funny that. We all used to be so close and yet high school managed to drift all of us so far apart. Kunikida smirked at me as we left, bending close.

"Aren't you going to confess?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Confess what?"

"To Sasaki-san. Duh. Don't you like her?"

I have no idea where you got a dumb idea like that.

My friend frowned. "You're no fun, Kyon."

"I mean...it's not like she'd even _want _to. You know her..." I muttered.

At this, he nodded, smiling. "Yeah...you are right about that. I wonder...do you have a fetish for weird girls?"

Okay, don't make assumptions that could easily turn into false rumors. That definitely is not a healthy habit, Kunikida. And I thought you were always on my side?

He laughed after noticing that expression on my face.

"Yeah...alright, I get it...You're always so serious, Kyon. I was just kidding."

Yeah, well, stop kidding.

I nodded once to him then began heading towards my bike. Mostly everyone had either walked off or taken the train to return to their homes. The crowds were starting to thin as lunch time was ending.

I was about to unlock my bike when I heard...sobbing?

"_Kyon..._why, _you idiot! Why can't you...you...Where are you?"_

I narrowed my eyes. Was this Kunikida's idea of a joke? Well...it definitely wasn't funny. Not in the slightest. I must have just been hearing someone else...calling out to a stranger that wasn't me.

I climbed on my bike and was about to leave when...

"Wait, Kyon."

I flinched, looking over my shoulder and spotted Sasaki standing there with her thin smile. I gave her a curious look, wondering as to what she wanted. I doubted there would be anything normal that Sasaki wanted to talk to me about.

She walked closer to me, her hands behind her back.

"Yes?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

She laughed once. "That's what I was going to ask you..." She shook her head.

I blinked once. "Huh?"

"What's wrong, Kyon?" She looked up at my puzzled expression. "Don't act like there's nothing wrong. The other's might not have noticed because most of them are idiots...but I could tell. You look...well, you look just plain depressed, Kyon."

I blinked again multiple times, my heart sinking, rapidly.

"I have no idea..."

"No...just, I know when there's something wrong from a mile away. I can read people's expression you know. You of all people should know that. And you just...stared on. Barely talking. Not like the Kyon I used to know. The Kyon I knew had...well..." She paused. "Life inside him."

I narrowed my eyes. Was Sasaki disillusioned? There was no way what she saw in me was real. I was _fine_. Everything was just fine. Normal even. So normal...so...

Boring.

...Yeah, I guess that's what that reunion could be classified as.

_Boring._

Of course, I didn't tell Sasaki this. She would have taken it the wrong way. She wouldn't understand. No one would. They've all just accepted this world already - like I had. Although...no one really realized how completely and utterly _boring_ that was. I felt like screaming actually. I wanted to shout to the world, ask for some _excitement. _Demand it actually.

And it was tiring to keep it all bottled up.

So, that's what it was. I was just fine, Sasaki. Alright?

I heard a sigh as I turned around.

"Please...don't push me away again."

I flinched as I heard those words. I shook my head, putting my foot to the pedal.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I waved once without looking back. "See you later, close friend."

And I left. Yep, I didn't really say much after that. It was simply...tiring just standing around there after all. I really just...wanted to go back to sleep...

My sister greeted me with a smile as I returned home and I waved once as I climbed the steps up to my room, collapsing into my bed.

And I dreamed...probably one of the most realistic dreams I've had in awhile.

* * *

There was a girl. Now, she didn't appear to be like anyone special but that fierce look in her eyes told me otherwise. She was running, very hard and fast - faster than anyone I've ever seen run on the track team.

Her face was horrified. Simply stated, she looked like someone she knew, a relative or friend, just died.

Tears were streaming in her eyes. Tears that I..._knew_ didn't belong on her face.

"Kyon...damn it. Kyon...where are you? I...why? Why did they...?"

She stopped running - the night was growing high over her. She jumped when she read the sign...the sign of a Junior High School. East Junior High. She smirked as she walked up to the gate, touching it as if remembering...a long lost memory.

She took in a breath. "I didn't even realize I was in the area. ...Why would he -"

"Be here?"

I turned around along with her and there stood a man...a man with a smile that looked so familiar yet hauntingly...frightening. He wore the North High uniform even though I swear I've never seen him before. I glanced back at the girl and she was smiling towards the figure that suddenly appeared.

"Koizumi-kun...what-?"

"He's gone, Suzumiya-san. But that's alright, isn't it? The world can just...go back to normal. It's saved. No more closed spaces. We're free."

Suzumiya-san? Hadn't I heard that name before? From a phone call.

_John Smith._

Suzumiya-san took a step back, towards that locked gate to the Junior High. She wasn't going to jump the fence was she? That would be trespassing! I narrowed my eyes at her then glared at this Koizumi.

"Who are you? And what's-?_"_

"She can't hear you. Only I can...I'm sorry but I couldn't stop my superiors. You understand right?"

"Of course not! What is this you bastard-?"

I ran up to this Koizumi and grabbed him by the collar...-

And my hands went right through him, gold specks of dust replacing my hand then my body as I literally _went through him_. What the hell...? It was like I was some ghost or...

This Suzumiya was glancing around.

"W-Who are you talking to Koizumi-kun? I...what _superiors_?"

"I'm sorry, Suzumiya-san. It had to happen and...you have to forget him as well. It's the only way...that the world can be repaired."

Forget? Forget _what_? I was suddenly grabbed from the front - another figure was somehow holding me despite my gold ghost appearance. Cold emotionless eyes and a short haired girl filled my vision. No one around us could see her though as I struggled in her grasp. Who...what was this stoic girl-?

I was thrown to the ground and I looked up again. Another girl was standing there with an expression simular to Okamoto's. I wondered if, in another life, she was some popular girl or maybe even...

A psychopath.

I was breathing heavily - I was going to shout for them to stop tugging me around but the long haired girl grabbed me again before I could say anything.

"Can you do it?" I heard the girl behind me mutter.

I was brought closer to the long haired girl's face.

She nodded.

"Once he's gone here...she won't remember a thing. Of course...Nagato-san. Are _you_ sure you want this? Once the Data Overmind-"

"Do it."

She laughed manically - like some evil villan from an anime - and let go of me with her right hand.

Only for a knife to appear, glinting in it.

"What the hell-?"

I struggled but this girl...although she didn't look like it...had the strength of a mad bull charging into a red cape.

My eyes widened as the knife plunged into my chest. Right into my heart.

I should have died...really...

But-

* * *

My alarm went off and I groaned. Shamisen meowed contentedly as I shifted, for some reason my head had made a comfortable perch for him to sleep on throughout the night.

I glared at the cat, pulling the covers over my head.

The door slammed open.

"Wakey, wakey, Kyon-kun!"

My sister. She grabbed the cat and took off singing a small merry tune. I wanted to grab my blanket again and just go back to sleep but I knew that I couldn't just do that...

I clambered into the bathroom with my uniform before realizing...

_Yeah...it's Sunday..._

I slapped my forehead. I'm so dumb...why would I just up and forget that it was the weekend still? I didn't actually want to go back to school right? That would just be crazy...and I was sane.

I think.

I doubted it with all these nightmares and voices in my head. Maybe that's why I wanted to go to school. At least other people besides my Grade School sister would be around...

_And Sunday would be white..._

I blinked once, smirking at that strange thought. Yeah...the kanji for Sunday meant sun but I mean...white of all the colors to think about in conjunction with that? Yare, yare...I really was starting to get sick in the head.

So, Sunday passed like a dream. I studied some more though I knew none of it would matter since I didn't get it. I was preparing the grave I was going to dig myself after an hour of "studying" (more like staring at my clock counting the amount of times the second hand passed twelve). Before long, after watching T.V. and playing video games all day, I retired into my room with a long apathetic sigh. The homework I had to do...well let's just say I was _not_ in the mood to do it.

So I didn't.

July 8th was Sunday. And tomorrow would be July 9th. Of course, I had no idea then that these dreams of mine were a little bit more than they appeared but I was so used to and indifferent about this world around me. It was like a numb fog was trying to brush over me yet I just couldn't sense it.

Or wanted to see it

I collapsed on my bed, looking at the time.

12:00 am. I really should be going to bed.

When someone first falls asleep they enter a state of non-REM sleep. However, it's in REM sleep where we begin to have dreams. Of course, it's not like I had any dreams that night but I did remember that one dream on Saturday.

"Suzumiya Haru...hi?" I wasn't sure about her first name since that John Smith only mentioned it once.

I shook my head, sighing as I got myself comfortable.

It must have been the random material in my brain showing up in my dreams. After all, Suzumiya-san wasn't actually that beautiful in reality. Probably. I mean, I wouldn't want to assume that all girls had to be naturally beautiful like the ones in my dreams...

Damn you, Freud.

* * *

"A transfer student?" I muttered.

Kunikida nodded.

"Yeah, a transfer student. Coming into _our_ classroom. Today of all days. You know, I kind of feel bad for them. I mean, right before exams? Tough break huh...?"

I would normally agree with him but I wasn't exactly paying attention. After all, there's never been a student transferring into my class before. I wonder...are they an esper or...?

_Shut up. Those sorts of stuff can't happen._

After mentally kicking myself for those childish thoughts, Kunikida returned to his seat as soon as the bell rang. My mind was nagging me, not just due to the fact that we were getting a transfer student at a strange time of the year, but also due to the fact that I didn't do my homework.

And it was my row's turn to answer questions.

I sighed as Okabe-sensei walked up to the podium with a grin on his face.

"Homeroom is starting!"

He said those same words everyday. Didn't he ever get tired of that?

Another person walked in...a sneering, calm looking person wearing the North High summer uniform (we normally wore blazers...and believe me, in April those were too hot to wear...).

Okabe-sensei was busy writing his name on the board as this new guy just stared onward into our classroom. This guy...kind of looked like a bastard. I mean, I'm pretty sure most of the males in our class were disappointed that the transfer hadn't been a girl.

Although...

This new student bowed, only slightly though - not the sort of deep bow expected from a transfer student.

"My name is Asahina Minoru. From the Kyoto Prefecture."

"A guy from Kyoto, eh?"

"He doesn't sound like he has a Kansai accent..."

"Is he a fake?"

These students whispered in the back row as if no one could hear them from the front. Idiots.

And...what the hell was with the kanji in his name? I mean, Asahina Minoru (Morning sun, vegetable, reality)? It sounded like a bad anime fighting move. I kind of felt bad for him and his parents for giving him such a stupid name...

Though, I really couldn't say much myself, huh?

He was led to the back row into the only seat that was available. The seat behind me. I was so unused to having someone behind me that I think I was going to grow hairs on my neck. After a year of relaxation alone in the back I don't think I was ready to give that up. You know?

Class returned to it's normal fashion after that. Yeah...this Asahina Minoru was just a normal guy. I really shouldn't have expected him to start growing an extra leg and what-not.

During our first break, Kunikida walked towards me.

"Guess I can't sit there anymore during lunch, eh?" He stuck out a hand to Asahina who was staring outside the window at the moment. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kunikida-"

"Not interested."

He flinched at the guy's quick voice and retracted his hand slowly, giving me an eye.

"Erm...are you-"

"Go away."

I narrowed my eyes. What a bastard...I mean, did he have any idea what common courtesy was? He acted as if he was the leader of some Yakuza gang with that sneer ever present on his face. In fact...he kind of scared me.

...Just great. It was going to be even harder to study with this mean looking guy glaring at my back all day. Were the fates _trying_ to prevent me from passing?

I wondered if this Asahina was transferred due to his bad attitude. I could see that...his parents not wanting to have to deal with his drug habits or his gang warfare so they transferred him to our little peaceful town.

Kunikida gazed towards me and I just shook my head.

My damn bad luck...

He walked away and I took out my work, trying to solve the rest of the math problems in a timely manner before class. I didn't even care if they were right anymore. I was known as stupid anyway so the teacher would just merely shake his head and move on...

I felt someone poking my back.

I turned around and this Asahina was sneering at me - I guess that was how his face was just normally set.

"Last minute homework, huh?" He commented. He snorted. "Idiot."

I could feel my forehead constrict in anger. What the hell? How could _he_ say anything? He looked like a gang mobster that didn't give a flying shit about _school_. I decided to ignore this guy - who seemed to like to start fights - deciding not to humor him.

_He _was the idiot after all.

I heard a humph from behind.

"So...this is how you treat the newly transferred student? You know...I barely know anything about this school. The _normal _more friendly reaction would be to offer me a tour of the facility during lunch break."

Yeah, well, I was _normally _starving during lunch so I have no time to be parading around with _you_. Sorry.

He laughed once though I didn't bother turning around again.

The square of pi is what numeral...

"Eat fast then, idiot. You actually take an hour to eat lunch?"

Damn it... I forgot. The answer is the square root of three over two then...

"Oi, you ignoring me? Heh, of course you would. You're trying to solve your little problems over there..."

Next question. Limits. Oh God. Please no.

"I have a sister you know. Terrible at math. Probably worse than you right now. At the very least she _did_ her work."

Well, a complicated number like 15,492 sounds good enough. Let's go with that.

I felt a shadow over my shoulder snort.

"When has there _ever_ been a number that large as the answer to a limit problem? At the very least make your guess sensible. Idiot."

Okay. That's it.

I twisted around and the Asahina-_jerk_ sat back quickly as if I was going to throw a hook punch at his face. And I was very tempted to do just that but, due to my _better_ morals, I restrained myself.

"What is your _problem_?" I finally asked. "Idiot this. Idiot that. Who do you think you are?"

I think the room went silent after that.

I eyed up this Asahina Minoru with an anger I rarely displayed on my face. I was not in the mood to deal with this bastard. In fact, I should have just ignored him...damn it, he won...

Asahina smirked at me.

"I do have tons of problems with you. But, I won't take that out against you right now I suppose. It's not like _you_ did anything. Yet."

You got that right.

I guess?

He went back to staring out the window. "The answer to that problem is the indeterminate form of 1 to the infinite power by the way." He snorted then muttered. "Stupid twenty-first century humans..."

I blinked twice at him before turning around once again. Just what the hell was wrong with this guy? Sure I should have been interested, since he definitely wasn't normal, but I was more scared of him than anything.

After we finally quieted down, everything returned to normal.

Well...except for the fact that a pair of eyes were burning a hole into my neck...

* * *

Lunch period. I licked my lips as I grabbed my lunch from my bag...

Only to have it swiped from my hands. _Like nothing._

I looked up and spotted the slouched form of Asahina Minoru walking away with my lunch as if it damn well belonged to him. I opened then closed my mouth once then twice before standing up quickly, following him.

"H-Hey-!"

I was not going to go hungry two days in a row!

Asahina stopped walking to gaze after me with apathetic eyes.

"You coming or what?"

"Give me back my lunch you bastard!"

Kunikida was giving us curious stares as he came up to me with his own lunch, scratching his head.

"Is...is something wrong-?"

This Asahina bastard began walking again so I had to follow him out of the classroom with my friend calling out after me. And you know what _really _pissed me off?

He was just _walking_ away from me. With no worries.

I swiped my lunch out of his hand, giving him a dagger filled eye. This transfer student...was the wrong sort of crazy. Yeah, sure it would've been awesome if he was a little bit interesting but this guy just...annoyed me. To death.

He smirked, turning around.

"You going to show me around now?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes. Why did he care so much about being shown around campus? Shouldn't the class president...

Oh, right, Tachibana-san was usually nowhere to be found despite being the class representative. Damn her for being irresponsible.

I sighed, looking down at my poor groped lunch box. Who knew what sort of diseases this guy had. Small pox? Rabies? _Dysteria_?

My stomach growled. I gave this strange guy a look.

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" I asked.

"I promise. Right after you show me the place."

I groaned along with my stomach, shaking my head. I guess I had no real choice _but_ to do what he said...

I showed him the second year floor first and didn't bother with the third year floor since there would be no reason for him to go up there anyway.

Even so..."You know, the roof could be given a look."

I stopped walking and eyed him like he was crazy.

"No one's allowed up there."

"_Why not_?" he whined - like a little kid.

Because there's no fence to stop you from falling to your death. Unless you want to damn commit _suicide_...

"Whoa, whoa there kid. I didn't say anything about suicide. I'm not even sure that's _allowed_ in the books."

Come again? Suicide was never allowed in proper moral codes _ever_ unless it was ceremonial.

And who's the kid here!?

I sighed but I continued to walk forward towards the next building. He didn't exactly mention the roof again though he did brood after he realized we weren't heading there... And I was starting to feel uncomfortable again with the way his dark eyes burned a hole in my head.

Unfortunately, the transfer student returned to his perky mood...

"You're a bit grumpy, huh?" he commented. "You're like my grandpa. Though...that is quite possible...You being my grandpa that is."

I rolled my eyes and other-wisely ignored his brash comments. He stopped by to wave at a few girls - first years - that blushed as he walked away. I swear he snorted a "take _that _old hag..." underneath his breath though I didn't bother asking him what that was about.

This _jerk_ of a guy was a woman hunter. I just _knew _it. I really should warn all the girls in the school of his deviousness. He had to be stopped.

He eyed me as we reached the cafeteria.

"What's with the serious expression all the time, idiot?"

I have a name you know!

He snorted. "Oh _really_...? It must be 'I don't give a shit.'"

I wanted to punch him there...really badly...but a teacher was watching us carefully so I decided to turn at my heels and walk out of the building. If I didn't know any better, steam would be coming out of my ears. Sooner or later, I would overheat with _rage_.

The only place I hadn't shown him yet had been the Old Building yet even I rarely went in there. Even so, he demanded I at least show him around. I figured he wanted to join a club someday or something.

The Old Building was known for being very musty inside during the summer so I gained a sweat as I walked in. I waved my face, wishing to _God_ that the school could get air conditioners. Stat. Pronto.

"Old man..."

I _heard_ that you bastard.

"Oh...calling _me _names now?" he sneered.

_Sneering Bastard_.

He laughed softly only for his laugh to gain in volume. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Yare, Yare...

"So...this where clubs meet, huh?" he asked.

"Yep."

We walked up the stairs for some reason. I don't know why. My legs seemed to just want to go up. Look, I've never been in here so that was probably the reason. I had to pretend I knew what I was doing to save face.

"You in a club?"

I snorted. "Of course not."

"Why not?" he asked.

I shrugged. "No reason."

I didn't really find many of the clubs here interesting or of value to me. I was terrible with music. Terrible handwriting. I wasn't much of a reader... Overall I just had no hobbies.

He snorted. "You're a boring person."

"..."

Well, in that case, you're right Asahina. Yeah, I am a boring person. There was nothing wrong with that though.

I don't know why...but we stopped at the second door down the hall after we got to the second floor. The Literary club, huh? I heard that it was a ghost club now... The amount of people wanting to join had equaled to the depressing number of zero during my first year at North High. No one bothered to use the room anymore either - I mean, no one was creating any clubs anytime soon after all.

"So, you have any recommendations?" this bastard asked me.

I knocked on the door and blinked twice.

"...huh?"

There was a laugh behind me. "Sorry, but I'm not much of a reader...Terrible recommendation. So how about something like...the calligraphy-"

Well...no that wasn't it. It's just...there was no one in here. Why would I knock at a door I knew that no one would answer to?

He shrugged after I voiced that question to myself. "Beats me. You're the idiot."

Alright...is that all that consists of your vocabulary? _Idiot_?

Of course, I didn't voice _that _question. I didn't feel like it would be worth my breath to. I turned away from the Literary Club door even though it felt as if...there was something pulling at me to open it up even though it was _locked_. Almost like...a sixth sense. This school was pretty old...maybe in another life I went here too? Which is why I felt inclined to knock on that door more than once?

I sighed. Whatever. It wasn't worth getting too deep into it as Sasaki would say...

There was twenty minutes of lunch left when we returned. I swallowed most of my food in large chunks as Asahina sat behind me, slouching, placing his feet up onto the desk. You know...he was really intelligent for a thug - he knew pretty complicated math problems that I couldn't solve in an hour never mind a second. I mean, he didn't exactly give off the appearance-

"You want to say something?" he asked.

I shook my head and returned to my meal.

No. Not really.

He sneered at me. "You sure?"

Well... "You're from Kyoto, right?" I asked.

"Yeah and?"

"You don't exactly...well, you don't have a Kansai accent..."

He snorted. "You saying everyone that lives in Kyoto needs to have a Kansai accent?" he asked. Though I knew it was more of a threat then a question. I shook my head, mixing my rice a bit more as I tried avoiding his eyes.

"Well...I mean, most people _do_."

"I wasn't _born_ in Kyoto you idiot."

Oh. Well, that's one mystery solved. I returned to my lunch and finally finished talking to this disrespectful sneering bastard.

And the day ended just like that.

...You know, some would say that was the catalyst. But those some people were wrong.

Because it was tomorrow when my boring and indifferent life became just a little bit more interesting...

I would normally be happy about that. You know, like I had finally found my blue bird of happiness. But I wasn't.

Oh no.

Because I was going to be sent down a tidal wave of _hell_.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

There is a story of a little Blue Bird of Happiness.

A boy and a girl wanted to find this little Blue Bird yet no matter how far they searched or went they could never find it. Before long, they realized they were happy without the bird so they went home feeling accomplished even though they found nothing.

And there it was, inside their house, chirping away.

That sort of story was told to me as a child and as a teenager going to high school I figured that right now I was just trying to find that Blue Bird of mine. Without even realizing it, my own happiness would be just staring at me in the face.

It was in cram school...

Junior High...

* * *

"Hey, Kyon."

I didn't look up.

"Kyon."

I still refused.

I then heard a laugh.

"Heh, heh, I see...this is revenge. I get it. You really want to be called by your real name, huh?" Sasaki sat down beside me, squeezing her hair from the rain. This was before that Rainy Day in September and right after Sasaki and I spoke truly for the first time. Sasaki smiled at me when she noticed I had looked up.

"I already told you that your name is kind of...strange."

Stranger than Kyon? _Really_?

"Yes...stranger than Kyon. Rare kanji in a name so normal and common..."

So...what's so wrong with just _saying_ my name. You know, I wouldn't care if you didn't write it.

Sasaki did some form of her own pout. For her that was just sitting back, crossing her arms, and smiling.

"We aren't that formal now, are we? I've already told you that I like to consider every person like myself. We're all equals here. So, you would be rather uncomfortable if I called you by your real name, right?"

"..."

Just say it. What's holding you back?

I heard her giggle and I flinched giving her a look.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing...You're just too perceptive, Kyon. That's why I like you. You just sit back and listen, maybe give your own thoughts at times, yes. But just listen. Most people wouldn't bother listening to me - maybe discuss some practical subjects like a sports game or anime. You just sit there though... actually listening. In the modern world, that's amazing." I blushed. Well...I mean I'm not that... "And yet...you don't learn a thing in class."

Hey! There was no call for that. I definitely didn't deserve to be shot down after that well worded compliment. Especially not by Sasaki - probably the smartest person in our class.

"You like reading, huh?"

I looked down and noticed that I forgot to put my book away - it was a science fiction book I had long forgotten the name of. I used to read so many of those. More than my stupid text books...

I didn't stop Sasaki as she picked the book up and read the back cover.

"Ah! A time traveling venture. You know, I always see you reading or sleeping in class though the teacher never really noticed. Is that why you have bad grades?"

What...of course not! I don't...sleep in class...

She smirked. "You're such a bad lier."

Damn.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Yare, yare, Kyon. What's the point about reading this when your grades are so terrible? I understand that the education system is faulty at times but the only way for people to rise above their station is if they have a practical, rational mind." She leafed through the book. "I see the entertainment purposes of this book but I also see a lack of substance."

"What?"

She looked up at me with a smile on her face.

"People read books, watch tv, go to movies, in order to escape our dull reality. I won't lie, I've read many books for that very same purpose. Though...you read them like an addiction. Tell me, Kyon...you don't actually believe in time travel, do you?"

I rubbed my head, trying to grasp what she was saying.

"Well...no, but-"

"But you _want_ it to be real, don't you?"

I froze then, glaring at the book that she held in her hands. I had...completely dismissed the possibilities of aliens or time travelers a long time ago. Sure, as a child I would skulk around town looking for aliens or maybe try to find a ghost in that abandoned house down the street but I was over that faze.

Completely.

Over it.

Sasaki smirked. "Are you _really_?"

"Yes."

Of course I was. I wasn't crazy. I was normal. Everyone was normal. And I had to accept that or else...well I would be living a pretty lonely existence otherwise right? Conspiracy theorists didn't gain the connotation of crazy from nowhere.

For some reason, Sasaki laughed at my solid eyes as we stared at each other for at least a minute.

"Even when you lie to _yourself _you're bad at it."

_What_?

"Yare, yare Kyon... Do I have to disprove time travel as well in order for you to get it? Let's see... What about the whole 'you're your own grandfather' bit that always seems to crop up?"

Yeah, I know that one. Where a person accidentally father's themselves. Of course, I figured that the time travelers would have detailed information about who lived when and where in their time period. They would have to be pretty advanced to have time travel in the first place after all.

Sasaki's smile grew. "You do know Einstein's Theory of Relativity, right?"

I try to forget my homework after it's done but yeah...what of it?

"Most of these fictional books seem to believe that time can be controlled under our very fingers. Like we could all be gods ourselves if only we had the tools to replicate the effect. Of course, according to Einstein, we would only be able to travel into the future and even then the person who did travel into that future would never be able to return to our past. Therefore, real, practical _time travel_ could never exist if we had no real knowledge today that it existed."

I...but I mean there could be so many different things that we haven't discovered-!

"That's even if we could travel at the speed of light in the first place. I doubt that anyone would be able to survive -"

"I got it already."

I blinked once, not even realizing that I had said something so...rude like that. I mean, what Sasaki was saying was interesting...but maybe she was right. Maybe I still believed in aliens, time travelers and other paranormal things but I just didn't want to accept that they weren't real.

Before then, there was no one there to snap me back into reality. I had just been drifting along, blinded by my impossible dreams.

I guess...maybe I was just angry at Sasaki for opening my childish eyes.

She had a shocked look on her face but she never had the chance to ask what was wrong before the cram session began. I swear that I failed that test too. Probably because Sasaki kept worriedly glancing towards me as if I was some ticking time bomb ready to just blow off into space.

But I wasn't. Really. I was fine.

After cram school I was about to go home when a voice stopped me.

"We go the same way home every day, don't we? Till the bus stop?"

I glanced up from my bike and saw Sasaki standing there, smiling tenderly. She actually seemed a bit...sad. I wondered if it was because of what I said. I really didn't want to push Sasaki away. I was actually starting to consider her a friend.

I stood there for a minute before jumping, taking myself out of my revere.

"Ah...we do?"

"Yeah, I keep forgetting to ask since you run off as soon as cram session ends. You must really hate it, huh?"

I snorted. Of course I do...

She walked forward and I was about to ask her what she was doing before she jumped behind me onto the bicycle seat.

"You mind if I tag along?"

"Erm...no. It's fine."

"I'm not too heavy so I shouldn't be too much of a burden."

I wasn't really worried about that but that's okay too.

I began to peddle home with an extra person behind me. I wasn't quite used to the extra weight but I managed to not completely topple over. When we came close to the bus stop, Sasaki suddenly jumped off and I slowed down, eyeing her.

What was she, crazy? She could have hurt herself...!

"Thanks for the ride, Kyon. This is where we part ways..." She was going to walk away before she paused, turning around again. "Oh, I forgot!" She rummaged through her bag before she found what she was looking for, taking it out. "I forgot to give you this back. Sorry."

I contemplated taking it from her hands before sighing.

"No...I'm sorry. For, well...snapping at you like that."

Sasaki smiled.

"No, it's okay. Most people are annoyed by my choice of words at times. I was actually surprised you didn't back off from me earlier."

"But...you're right though."

Sasaki's smile suddenly deflated like a child's balloon.

"Right? About what?"

I sighed again, looking down the wet road.

About these stupid dreams of mine. I guess I really was just trying to convince myself of the probability of all those sorts of crazy stuff to happen. Wouldn't it be great if some evil organization tried to take over the world and a group of espers were trying to stop them? And I was one of them? I laughed once, glancing away.

"Yeah right. Like that would ever happen. I'm such a..."

Sasaki walked closer to me, close enough to shove the book into my hands.

I shook my head again. "I guess...what I'm trying to say is...Thanks."

"Don't thank me, Kyon," she said, smiling. I grasped the book within my hand. "I don't deserve that. Not really."

Even today I still have no idea what she meant by that. Right after that day she followed me as I pushed my bike along (mostly due to the fact that I didn't want her to jump off again like that) underneath the stars. I would wonder at the beauty of those cosmos and Sasaki would share me her philosophy - of aliens, time travelers, demons, ghosts, sliders, the impossible. I never resented her for it again because what she said was able to give me a clear look at the entertainment I was reading and watching.

And maybe, that, had been the catalyst after all.

Because that was when Suzumiya Haruhi entered the picture.

* * *

"You actually made it to class, idiot?"

That Asahina really needed to find some other occupation. Maybe as a comedian? Of course, maybe someday he would live up to his father's job as a Yakuza street gang criminal but I didn't want to be his first casualty.

At least...I don't _think_ he hasn't killed people yet.

I sat down taking out the only text book I bothered with bringing home out onto my desk.

A snort. "I heard that we're having exams on Thursday. You must be excited."

I sighed. "Look, Asahina-san. I have no idea why you like to pester me so much but it's not working. So just let it go and leave me alone. You promised, didn't you?"

I heard the desk behind me clatter as if annoyed. He stayed silent for the rest of the morning as I went through the chemistry text that I wasn't really reading. It all just went right over my head. When it came to memorizing details...like the periodic table of elements well...

"Homeroom is starting!"

Well...it's not like I would have been able to remember much anyway. Asahina-san must have been my conscious - since he called me idiot all the time. That was all I was able to call myself inside my head during class.

Idiot, idiot, idiot idiot, _idiot!_

_"Oi!_ Kyon-san?"

I looked up - more liked jumping up - and gazed up at...

Tachibana-san? She was the class representative - the one who wore two pig tails like a little grade school kid. Normally she wouldn't bother with someone like me nor anyone else really...she was a silent serious student with intentions to going to Tokyo University.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes (since I fell completely asleep without realizing it) and glanced behind me...

That sneering bastard wasn't anywhere to be seen. What a chicken.

Tachibana-san was looking down at me with worry.

"You fell right asleep in class, Kyon-san..." she muttered. "I was just wondering...are you alright?"

"..."

Why does everyone think I'm not "alright?" I'm completely fine! What, did I have some invisible cancer that everyone except me noticed? Was I gaining athletes foot?

Instead of saying all that though, I just rubbed my head, embarrassed.

"Well...I'm fine, Tachibana-san."

She gave me a small smile. "All right then. It's just my duty as the class president to make sure all the students in class don't slack off. You're not a slacker...are you?"

Well...from what you've seen all year I kind of wonder what exactly you expect a slacker to look like. Since I was the complete definition of one.

The class rep frowned. "Now, don't put yourself down like that Kyon-san. You know, they say that a dumb confident person can go farther than an poorly confident intellectual person any day. You just need to gain some of that. Now, you can do it!"

She waved a fist into the air as if confidence sprouted from oxygen molecules. I doubt that any words could lighten my mood however. I mean with exams coming along...

...Wait, did she just call me stupid?

After her warm display, she took a step back in surprise, looking down at her feet. Bending over she picked up a slip of A4 paper from the ground that had been folded into a letter size.

Reading the front of it, she held it out to me.

"You drop this?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think so..."

"It has your name on it, right?"

Huh? Really? I hesitated before taking the slip of paper. It did have my name on it...my _real_ name at that and in very static handwriting.

Was this a love note?

No...she wouldn't risk giving it to me in person even if I was unconscious. Even so, a girl wouldn't use common paper like this. That added to the fact that no girl _whatsoever_ would be attracted to me.

I wouldn't be _that_ lucky.

Tachibana-san then just skipped off like that. Hadn't she wanted to say something else to me? I mean, did she only come over here to wake me up or something? Though...that kind of makes sense now that I think about it.

I sighed as I opened the note, going over the contents once, then - since I didn't understand it - I read them again.

_Come to the roof. Alone. During lunch._

Okay...who was this? Don't tell me Asahina wanted to kill me today? By throwing me off the roof? I really didn't want to go splat against the pavement and die like that. No, I was going to fight.

And, maybe in hindsight, I should have ignored that message entirely. But, since my life had been so static and hazy up until this point I had to thank that bastard for making my life interesting for a day. I certainty hadn't expected being threatened by a piece of paper would actually make me _grateful_.

Well, you know what they say about masochists.

I felt like slapping myself after demeaning myself like that and - surprise, surprise - Asahina Minoru didn't show up to class. Hmm, I wonder who sent that note? Probably not the person _who decided to skip class_.

I should have been scared out of my wits really but I was too focused on having my revenge on the Yakuza thug Asahina there to even care about my own safety. Maybe it was my human curiosity as well...I did wonder what it was exactly that he wanted.

During lunch, I waved Kunikida off saying I had to go somewhere really quick. He didn't exactly say much after that but I took that as an okay. Strangely enough, Tachibana-san had been absent from class as well.

And she was never absent.

The door to the roof was normally locked so I assumed that this mysterious person meant the stairwell to the roof. I walked up the stairs, expecting the worst to happen as I climbed up only surprised to find...

A complete stranger standing there.

She had thick black hair - cut up to her shoulders - and a small smile as she saw me climb up the steps as if she had been expecting me. I paused at the last step, eyeing her with curiosity. Her shoes told me that she was in my year despite the fact I have never seen someone like her before.

In her hair was a yellow band that she wore awkwardly to the side and her eyes were a deep black - so black that I was afraid that I was going to be sucked into them. Like a black hole or dark matter.

Her smile remained on her face for awhile and she held out her hand, beckoning me closer.

"Why hello! We finally meet at last," she said.

Her voice had emotion, though, it felt quiet like...it wasn't even there at all.

I looked at her once before taking the next step up on the stairs. I glanced at the broken busts of Mars and old supplies from the cultural festival last year. A few signs were sprawled on the ground as if they had fallen and nobody realized they had before leaving this room to dust.

The girl walked closer to me.

"It was really hard you know. Getting this far. I'm very proud of myself for being able to communicate to you like this..."

I blinked twice - I could feel my cheeks growing red - and I looked downstairs. Maybe she just had no idea how to confess? This girl...looked sort of shy yet not too dumb looking either.

I kind of felt embarrassed, not knowing who she was that is.

"Erm...what's your name?" I asked.

"Kuyou Suou. But you can just call me Suou," she replied with a smile.

I nodded once, looking off towards Mars, never looking directly at this girl.

"Um...okay, Suou-san. What did you want me to-"

"I wanted to confess something to you."

_"..."_

It _was_ a confession.

Oh God...I have no idea how to react to this sort of thing. Sure, I dreamed that - maybe obsessively so - a beautiful blushing girl would whisper good-nothings to me on top of the roof stairwell but I didn't actually believe that it could happen.

I was prepared for her next words but when they never came I asked myself.

"C-Confess...what?"

She took on a surprised expression. "You don't know?"

Erm...well...I sort of wanted you to say it out loud first. I can't just assume that this is actually reality - that this pretty soft smiling girl was actually in love with me... I wanted total proof.

She laughed to herself. "Oh - right - you don't know. Sorry! I keep forgetting since your pretty eyes are always the same..."

"..."

Alright, _that_'s different. Out of all the complements I've ever had...my eyes being _pretty_ have never been the first item to be listed.

She continued. "So I do suppose you wonder why I asked you to come up here. I guess the truth of the matter is that you probably have no idea _what_ I am either. This is going to probably come to you as a shock, I know, but there is no one else that I can turn to."

...Well she really did like to draw out her confession. I was starting to wonder exactly what she was getting at. Was she a stalker? Did I have a stalker? Okay, I didn't want a girl _that_ into me -

"It's about Haruhi Suzumiya. You know her, don't you?"

_Haruhi Suzumiya_?

There was that name again. It kept on coming up. Why? Was she some famous actor that I had no idea existed? A character from a T.V. show I didn't bother watching? Maybe she was a fan of her and wanted to see if I was?

I shook my head. "Sorry...I don't-"

"Then this is even worse than I feared!"

I jumped when she crawled closer to me, pouncing onto me - grabbing my collar. I was going to ask her to stop pulling me but she was shaking - in fear? - so I doubted she wanted to hurt me...

"Impossible! You're always with her, you always know her! This can't...what did they do? They-they did something to you, didn't they? When you got closer to her it became dangerous. The world was torn. It was inevitable...it was going to happen even without out jurisdiction-"

I struggled though her grip was iron. "C-Can you let go-?"

"And yet...why did they speed up the process? What do they have to gain from keeping both of you apart? The data we gained just from your proximity!"

Okay...this girl had to have been crazy. Crazier than Asahina. Crazier then...well...anyone. I placed my hand on hers and she looked down - jumping before I could really force her away.

"S-Sorry about that. It's just...you really have no idea?"

"What idea?" I asked. I was getting frustrated...

"Who am I?" she asked.

Was this a trick question? I shrugged. "Kuyou Suou. You told me-"

"The language expressed by you humans could not describe what I am although there are terms. We are people from above - the Northern direction. The Sky. The Data Overmind prefers to call us the Sky Canopy Dominion for we live out of reach, like in their peripheral vision, while they live in the shadows. They govern space while we govern time."

I took a step back - the words that came out of her mouth had been rapid. W-What was she even-?

She smiled. "By your shocked expression you appear to be in disbelief. Sorry, let me clarify. I'm still getting used to the emotional systems that have been copied into my parameters over thousands of years." She coughed once - like a damn math teacher trying to explain quantum physics to a child... "Although we govern the time hemisphere there was a quake four years ago where we contacted the Data Overmind for a split second. To us, space had never existed before. It was a foreign concept to those of the Sky Canopy Dominion. All we had were concepts of the forward direction." She took a breath. "In other words, we found an anomaly and wanted to get rid of it."

"And it took us this long to understand what we wanted to remove in the first place. So, I'm here, right now, explaining this to you because we needed to communicate our ideals. And Suzumiya-san. Suzumiya-san was the source. A source that we wanted to...well, extinguish."

"That is, until _you_ showed up and saved her."

My mouth moved up and down as this girl talked to herself. Sky Canopy Dominion. Overmind. Suzumiya-san. Four years ago. All of those words just flew by my head like a lecture in class. She was making no sense whatsoever. In fact, I was pretty sure of it now.

Yeah, she was crazy.

Of _all_ the girls to have a crush on me...

I swallowed deeply, tilting my head.

"Huh?"

This black haired girl peered towards me before she shook her head, sighing. "You don't get it, do you? I'm sorry...I find it hard to express exactly what I'm trying to say. You must be having a difficult time."

"I'm, what you humans call, an alien."

* * *

Alright, I remember what Sasaki said about aliens a long time ago. Last year actually.

"I find it difficult to believe that aliens would be interested in planet Earth. If they were intelligent enough to understand space travel we would be nothing more than primitive tribes in their eyes. Therefore, they would ignore us entirely - that's if there were other beings like us to begin with."

I blinked once at Kuyou Suou - her innocent smile appearing more like a crazed person's expression now that she revealed something so..._insane_. I could almost feel something like anger well up in my chest. Was this girl just playing around with me? Did she think it was _fun _pretending to be an alien or whatever?

Well, I can tell her this. Stuff her fun.

I turned quickly around on my heel and started to walk down the stairs.

Look, I wasn't delusional. Aliens couldn't exist. She must have been bored like I was and wanted to find some sort of entertainment. There were role players out there - maybe she was one of the crazy ones?

I heard a call from above. "Wait!"

I ignored her.

"Are you...yeah you don't believe me."

Are _you _insane? Look, if you actually think I believe you're an alien then you really must think I'm an idiot.

I was soon far enough away for her cries to be little more than shouts to no one and I returned to the classroom, my stomach growling.

Well, that was a complete waste of time.

Asahina-san was in his seat when I returned, smiling up at me as if I had some sort of secret to hide. I really didn't though - I just had no idea that there were actually loonies in our school.

I ate my lunch quickly as Asahina-san stared out the window with a sneer on his face. You know, I think he's scaring Kunikida away since he never came up to me again during lunch.

It was during the next break when Kunikida finally came up to me again with a worried expression. Asahina-san had - once again - made himself scarce. I wonder...what exactly did he do during breaks? Did he make other friends or something? I would actually be surprised if that was the case.

My friend smiled nervously at me as he sat down in the empty seat.

"I feel really bad for you, Kyon. Having to deal with Asahina Minoru... You know I heard a rumor-" I really had a bad feeling about this rumor... "-that Asahina-san used to be a part of something shady. Of course, no one has any doubts that he probably was but it's just...one of the teachers mentioned that he put a guy in the hospital just last month. For who knows what reason."

"..."

_Great_. I was probably going to be his next victim with the way he stares at my back during class. The guy likes to start fights, pick up girls, probably does drugs too...and is somehow a mathematical genius.

Let me just write my will here: Dear mother, father, sister; I have no real earthly possessions besides my bike but if there is one thing I am sure of, that bastard Asahina Minoru finally got me. Please, my last wish is for you to take revenge. Whatever he did to me, you do the exact same. Forget about the judicial system. Just give him a world of pain.

...of course, I doubted anyone in my family had the strength to take down that sneering bastard. I guess I had no one else to rely on besides Kunikida.

My friend smiled at my worried expression. "You should probably try and avoid him as best as you can. Although...that'll be hard seeing as how he sits right behind you."

Of course, he wasn't exactly a brave one...therefore I only had myself to trust.

Before my friend returned to his seat, Tachibana-san came up to us with that kind smile on her face.

"Hey, Kyon-kun, you ever figure out who wrote you that note?" she asked.

I sighed deeply, sitting back in my seat. I wasn't really in the mood to talk about it nor did I want this class rep to spread unwanted rumors around. Of course, there were probably rumors spreading around that I got a note in the first place so it didn't really matter.

I shook my head. "Some girl Kuyou Suou wanted to meet up with me for some strange reason. Even I...have no idea what the hell she wanted."

"Suou-san?!" she half-shouted in surprise.

I looked up. "You know her?"

Her shocked face remained for a brief moment before returning to her normal tender smile. Strange...that change of expression that is...

She sighed. "Yeah...everyone in our class does. And you don't?"

Well...obviously I didn't...

"She's a really quiet girl. Likes to talk to herself a lot like she's in her own world. I also heard that she was a major science fiction otaku - like one of the crazy types. I wonder...why would she send a note to Kyon-san?"

...Yeah, maybe that explains why she suddenly came out with the "I am an alien" bit. She just needed to get her head back into reality. You know, I actually felt kind of bad for her. She probably didn't have any friends and no one would give her a chance because she was a weirdo. Maybe she was just lonely. That had to have been it. It also explains why she created that strange scenario about some Canopy and such.

I shrugged at Tachibana-san and she giggled once before swerving on her feet and returning to her own seat. Kunikida stared back at me in disbelief.

"You had no idea who _Kuyou Suou_ was?" he smirked. "Always out of the loop, eh, Kyon?"

You know, they say that ignorance is bliss. I live by that rule.

Of course, I didn't know that that rule was a _terrible_ rule to live by. I guess that was what I had been ignorant about all along.

I was walking home, down that annoying hill. It was better going down, sure, but the fatigue that school created was enough for me to want to simply collapse and roll down the hill like a wild barrel. I normally walked home with Kunikida until we split ways but today he was tutoring first years in their classrooms before their exams.

So, I walked alone today.

You know, I sort of wondered what Kunikida was doing that was _so_ important. More important then sharing the burden that I was about to bear.

Asahina Minoru was there - beside my bike. Now, I usually parked my bike before the stairs that led up to the road since riding that uphill would be more torturous then simply walking.

That sneering bastard wasn't wearing his school uniform for one, and two...he was leaning back and staring at me with hunter's eyes. I swallowed, prepared for my untimely doom. Please, God, please don't kill me right now. I've lived a good life-

"Yo," he said with a wave. "I've been waiting for exactly five minutes and 23 seconds. How long does it damn take to climb down a hill?"

He was...acting rather relaxed for a thug. That and he didn't _seem_ like he wanted to kill me. So, there was that. I glanced towards my bike then back towards him with confused eyes. I wondered...what exactly it was that he wanted from me.

"Asahina-san..." I muttered.

There was a huff. "Look, don't call me that. It's a stupid name. Call me Fujiwara."

_Fujiwara_?

_Did he want me to treat him like damn royalty or something_?

I scratched my head as I glared at him, trying to decide how I was going to get to my bike with him in the way. Unfortunately, he didn't look like he was going to be moving any time soon.

I took a step forward. "Um...my bike-"

"That can wait. For now, I want you to come with me."

_Wh_y_?_

A huff. "Do I need to explain to you _why_? Just come on or I'll dump your stupid bike in the river."

...Well, it was either get punched to death here or wait a bit while I planned my own escape. I have no idea what option sounded better. Since there weren't any people around here though, I considered following him better than defying him out right.

Yeah, I was a coward but it was better than just flat out running away.

I sighed deeply then nodded my head.

Without another word he began to walk past me towards the street. I swallowed deeply, feeling sweat beginning to coarse down my forehead. What did he want to do to me? Was I the example? The next kid to be sent to the hospital?

As we walked down the road, I wondered what alley way he was going to shove me into. I also wondered where the hell we were going in the first place. I never went past this street...and hey! Are we heading towards the station?

"Keep up. I don't want to have to drag you there myself."

Alright, alright, _jeez_ man.

After a few minutes of silence, Asahina-san sighed as if he was tired of walking. "I can't believe she got to you first. Of course, I probably should have guessed that she was out of the loop about circumstances but even so..."

I hadn't even noticed him speaking and when I did I was barely able to catch exactly what he was saying. We passed the station - surprisingly - and swung around into a small park I think I visited as a child once or twice.

Was he going to jump me here? It didn't seem likely, there were other people around. Children and parents - all the sorts of people that _wouldn't_ try and harm me. Was this supposed to be a red-herring?

"Hey, just wait a minute," I said. Asahina-san stopped. "Where are you damn taking me?"

After all, I was not in the mood to go trapezing around the city. In fact, I really just wanted to go back home into cool air conditioning. Was that too much to ask?

There was that expected angry sigh - the one I was more familiar with.

"You _really_ don't understand the dangerous situation you're in, do you?"

_What_? I stood there, puzzled as to what this.._.stranger_ was saying. He didn't know me and I barely knew a thing about him. He didn't have the right -

"We're almost there. Actually, I don't care if you keep on following me or not. Though, knowing you, you'd follow me to your grave."

He continued walking as if nothing happened but - due to that curiosity - I couldn't just leave.

We went passed the park and were walking along a sakura tree river path that most people were visiting. Of course, all the petals were now gone replaced by green leaves but even so many people passed by. Couples included.

I wondered why the hell this guy would take me _here_ of all places before he stopped by the river's edge. He sat down then gazed up at me.

"You probably want to sit down before I tell you all this..."

I glared down at him before spotting a bench behind us. I pointed at it.

"There's a perfectly usable bench behind us."

"You have no idea who could've been sitting on those."

...Yeah, but you could say the same about the ground you know. Of course, I decided not to argue with him and sat at least a meter away from him. I stared down into the river water, hoping that whatever he wanted to say would happen quickly. I was not a patient man.

"First things first," he started. "You talked to Kuyou today, huh? I hadn't expected her to just come out with that bomb shell so soon. Fortunately, however, you're too stupid to even realize the truth in her words."

..._what_? Kuyou Suou? Her again?

I glared at him.

"Yeah, what about her? She didn't exactly _sound_ convincing."

And...wait, how the hell did he know what we had talked about? He must really be a stalker then...

He groaned, stretching his legs out.

"There it is. Your infamous denial. I wonder if that will be what spells the end of humanity? I have no clue."

Yeah, and I have no clue what you're saying buddy. Okay, I already knew you were a crazy bastard so I'll let this moment slide. I knew all of this had been a complete waste of my time.

I was about to stand up, however, his next words almost made me pause.

"I remember today...July the 9th? The second day I transferred into North High. Sorry, it's hard to remain relative when...well, you have no idea anymore."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

He paused to give me a wide smirk - it was so disgusting and gross that I barely realized the next words that came out of his mouth were even more unbelievable.

"That I'm a time traveler, dumb ass."

* * *

**A/N: Hello readers! Sorry for the delays (heh). As you can already see, the anti-SOS Brigade has replaced the real Brigade for some reason. I have an idea where this'll go however I'm not entirely sure yet...**

**I don't know about you, but I simply got tired of waiting for Tanigawa to write the next book. I mean, there is so much material untapped! Of course, there are other authors that take even longer breaks but I mean..._come on_**...

**So this is my solution! **

**Next chapter - time travel, stolen lunches, and too many notes.**


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